Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb carmer

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The English translation of the French verb carmer is “to charm.” It is pronounced as “kahr-may.”

The word “carmer” comes from the Old French word “charmer,” which means “to enchant” or “to bewitch.” It is most commonly used in everyday French in the Conditionnel Passé tense, which is the conditional perfect tense in English. This tense is used to express a hypothetical action or situation that would have taken place in the past, given certain conditions.

Three simple examples of the usage of “carmer” in the Conditionnel Passé tense are:

  1. Si j’avais su que tu étais sensible, je t’aurais charmé dès le premier jour. (If I had known you were sensitive, I would have charmed you from the first day.)

  2. Elle m’aurait charmé avec ses belles paroles si je n’avais pas été marié. (She would have charmed me with her beautiful words if I hadn’t been married.)

  3. Nous aurions été charmés par cette petite ville pittoresque si le temps avait été meilleur. (We would have been charmed by this quaint little town if the weather had been better.)

English translations:

  1. If I had known you were sensitive, I would have charmed you from the first day.

  2. She would have charmed me with her beautiful words if I hadn’t been married.

  3. We would have been charmed by this quaint little town if the weather had been better.

Table of the Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of carmer

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je aurais calmé Si j’avais su, je t’aurais calmé. I would have calmed you down.
tu aurais calmé Tu aurais calmé plus tôt. You would have calmed down earlier.
il aurait calmé Il aurait calmé son chien. He would have calmed his dog.
elle aurait calmé Elle aurait calmé la situation. She would have calmed the situation.
on aurait calmé On aurait calmé les enfants. One would have calmed the children.
nous aurions calmé Nous aurions calmé la foule. We would have calmed the crowd.
vous auriez calmé Vous auriez calmé votre colère. You would have calmed your anger.
ils auraient calmé Ils auraient calmé les clients. They would have calmed the customers.
elles auraient calmé Elles auraient calmé leurs nerfs. They (female) would have calmed their nerves.

Other Conjugations for Carmer.

    

    Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb carmer
     

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer
     

    Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer
     

    Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer
     

    Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer
     

    Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer
     

    Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer
     

    Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer

    Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer

    Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer

    Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer
     

    Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer

    Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer
     

    Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer
     

    Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer  (this article)

    L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer

    L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb carmer


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Carmer – About the French Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense

The French “Conditionnel Passé” is a compound tense used to express hypothetical or unreal actions in the past. It is formed by combining the conditional of the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” and the past participle of the main verb.

NOTE: To take a deep dive into all the French tenses then see my article on Mastering French Tense Conjugation.

Formation

Start with the conditional of the auxiliary verb: For most verbs, use “aurais” (for “avoir”) or “serais” (for “être”) as the conditional form. 

With “avoir”: j’aurais, tu aurais, il/elle/on aurait, nous aurions, vous auriez, ils/elles auraient. 
With “être”: je serais, tu serais, il/elle/on serait, nous serions, vous seriez, ils/elles seraient. 

Add the past participle of the main verb to this conditional form. 
For example, if you want to say “I would have done,” you would use “j’aurais fait.” If you want to say “She would have gone,” you would use “elle serait allée.”

Common Everyday Usage Patterns

Expressing Unreal Past Scenarios

The Conditionnel Passé is often used to talk about actions that did not happen in the past, but you are speculating about what would have occurred if they had. It’s a way to discuss hypothetical situations in the past. 

Si j’avais su, je t’aurais aidé. (If I had known, I would have helped you.)
Il serait venu s’il avait eu le temps. (He would have come if he had had the time.) 

Polite Requests or Suggestions

It can be used to make polite requests or suggestions in the past. 

Pourriez-vous m’aider, s’il vous plaît ? (Could you have helped me, please?) 

Expressing Doubt or Uncertainty

It can convey doubt or uncertainty regarding past events.

Il aurait peut-être oublié notre rendez-vous. (He might have forgotten our appointment.)

Interactions with Other Tenses

Conditional Present

You can use the Conditionnel Passé in combination with the conditional present to describe past actions that were hypothetical at the time they were spoken about. J’aurais aimé que tu m’appelles hier. (I would have liked you to call me yesterday.) 

Indicative Past Tenses

You might use the Conditionnel Passé alongside indicative past tenses like the passé composé to contrast hypothetical and real past events. Il est venu hier, mais s’il avait pu, il serait venu la semaine dernière. (He came yesterday, but if he could have, he would have come last week.) 

Conditional Future

In some cases, you can use the Conditionnel Passé in combination with the conditional future to discuss unreal past events that could have consequences in the future. Si j’avais réussi mon examen, j’aurais un meilleur travail. (If I had passed my exam, I would have a better job.)

Summary

In summary, the Conditionnel Passé is used to express hypothetical or unreal actions in the past. It is often used in conjunction with other tenses to convey various nuances in French, allowing speakers to discuss imaginary past scenarios, make polite requests, or express doubt about past events.

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